


Show Me the Stars

by xsilverstar



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Space Metaphors, altean soul theories, shallura sundays, tried to be descriptive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 05:44:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8878201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xsilverstar/pseuds/xsilverstar
Summary: His eyes do more than ground her. They make her float. (For Shallura Sundays)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Ahh I forgot to put this out on AO3! Here have it -slides-
> 
> I enjoy space metaphors and theories about quintessence too much ^u^ (Written for Shallura Sundays Prompt 1 - Dancing)

In their day, Alteans often told folk lore and based art, literature, and science on the theories of souls and the body parts connected to them. Allura’s favorite theory as a child was that of the eyes being the “pathway”, the way to read a person’s heart.

When she was younger, her father taught her a way she considered almost supernatural to feel a person’s soul. The crystal, purple earrings that floated beneath her lobes were filled with a—dare she say it— _magic_ dust that aided her in the process. Like quintessence, it was hard to explain the substance in words, all she knew was that it conjured images of things and places dear to a person.

It was like entering a new atmosphere. Allura could be taken to places as broad as an unidentified forest or something as specific as the person’s home.

Just a month ago, she had done as she had in the past with the paladins. Being spiritually connected to the lions was one thing, but the quintessence of the pilots was equally as important to her. She was pleased to find they all had such uniquely distinct atmospheres, ones that perfectly matched up with their respective lion.

She had seen them all in full—all except Shiro’s of course.

Now, this man definitely carried an air of leadership wherever he went. Anyone could take one look at him and know he was destined to be the Black Paladin of Voltron; however, Allura still needed to check, to really make sure. Everything screamed at her it was him, but…

But oh—his _eyes._ If there was one thing Allura trusted told the truth about Shiro, it was those granite orbs of his. They were strong and firm, mostly clear with a thin layer of mist hiding something important. Just because she couldn’t feel his soul off the bat didn’t detract from the way she could read the messages written in his oculi.

Still, Shiro was a hard case to crack—he gave her little flickers of his atmosphere sometimes, which grew longer as they spent more time together but still never really was enough. It must have had something to do with his past, maybe even with the Galra.

Maybe it spurred from suppressed emotions, selfish nosiness, or just stubborn curiosity, but Allura was determined to get Shiro to let her in.

* * *

That night, his eyes shone as brightly as they did when she first met him, reflecting the high ceiling lights on the edges of his irises. Allura could feel her heart jumping, fluttering lightly in her chest but pumping blood loudly enough for anyone to hear, she thought. It carried a steady pulse throughout her body, adrenaline pushing the current with a small nudge as she tried to delve a little deeper.

“Princess?” Shiro asked, long lashes blinking while he gazed upon her in a perplexed fashion. One of his hands shifted on her waist and he cocked an eyebrow up. “You look like you’re out of it tonight.”

Ah, right, they were supposed to be dancing. It was a ball after all. Allura swallowed down the lump forming in her throat and simultaneously shook her head.

“I’m fine,” she thought—hoped— she said. She was having a hard time putting everything into words while she tried to focus on…well, him.

His lips quirked up and a chuckle escaped from them. Allura flinched in surprise and gaped at him in surprise. Quickly, her cheeks heated up; he had noticed, oh no, _had_ he noticed—?

“I’m pretty sure we’re supposed to be _dancing._ You know, actually moving our feet.” His eyes twinkled with a playful gleam. “I thought you said you’ve been to a lot of these. How could you possibly not know how to dance correctly?”

Her brows furrowed sharply at the stale joke and she muttered under her breath, “Oh, hush. Let’s dance, then.”

Ignoring the amusement painted so clearly on his face, Allura stepped back as he stepped forward. She stayed dignified with her head raised high, staring him head on. He didn’t falter like he usually did as they fell into step with each other. His eyes were finally locked on hers and—

Allura nearly stumbled over her feet because of how strong the sensation hit her. The warm, yellow lights of the Arusian ballroom were soon replaced with black patches of the cosmos and purple asteroid belts. When he spun her in his arms, she began to float, defying all physics as they danced in endless loops and the stars waltzed around them, in her hair, in his eyes. The atmosphere was so serene, so calm and familiar, like the space she knew ten thousand years ago.

His slate black eyes sparkled with a new kind of light. Constellations rapidly formed and deformed in his pupils, ones she recognized like Leo the Lion, Hercules the Warrior, and Scutum the Shield, and she started a game of counting them all until she reached eighty seven—

And it all started to fade too fast when he shifted his focus elsewhere. Allura tried to hold down her crushing disappointment, tried to not be childish and selfish, but she knew nothing could stop her from getting that feeling back. She waited much too long for this.

So Allura reached up with a gloved hand, and roughly cupping his cheeks between her fingers, turned his face back down. His eyebrows were raised high with his mouth open in an uncharacteristically aloof way. If she weren’t so serious right now, she would have laughed.

She let go and in a brusque tone commanded, “Keep your eyes on me.”

The Adam’s apple in his throat bobbed as he nodded, white strands of hair falling into his lashes.

“Yes, Princess.” He smiled and craned his neck so he was closer.

And with that, his soul enveloped hers in a warm embrace and took her back to the starry pathway she had been longing to walk with him once again.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope that didn’t come out too strange, but I thought I background was necessary for something like this xD Happy Shallura Sunday everyone!
> 
> (Follow me on tumblr for more Shallura! Feel free to come talk Shiro with me @ http://silverliningedits.tumblr.com)


End file.
